In 5774, Israel’s Golan Heights Winery appeared at the largest and most respected international wine competitions and scooped a wealth of awards. In keeping with their first win in 1987, their famed Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon yet again took the gold at the 2014 VinItaly awards whereas newer offerings such as the Yarden 2T and the Gamla Brut triumphed in Germany and France. As the winery continued to push boundaries in the Israeli wine making world, their latest offering of Yarden Malbec was noted for its exquisite taste and joined the Yarden Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in winning prizes at the UK Decanter Wine Awards.
“We continue to keep upping our game and maintain our standard of excellence. To that end we have invested millions in utilizing the latest scientific processes and working together with international experts to study the land and advance both vineyard and wine production techniques” said Victor Schoenfeld, Chief Winemaker at the Golan Heights Winery
This past year was the first harvest which used a high-tech optical sorting machine to increase both the efficiency and accuracy of the grape sorting process. The winery has introduced novel wine analysis equipment in their on-site laboratory and they are experimenting with new fermentation agents in their experimental winery. Hi-tech innovations are a major component in streamlining the wine production process and tracking every little change in the status of each wine. Thus, everywhere from the largest vineyard to the smallest barrel is fitted with computerized sensors.
Staying at the ‘head’ of a fast paced industry is not easy. It requires utilizing the latest technology to create the finest quality wine possible. “If wine is akin to an 80-year-old grandfather, the modern Golan Heights wine region could be considered as a four-month-old baby. But to our pleasant surprise, our baby is playing on even terms with the big kids!” exclaimed Schoenfeld. After two decades in Israel, Schoenfeld added; “Working in Israel’s wine industry is more interesting and exhilarating than ever before and this upcoming year promises to bring even more successes.”
Start-Up Nation
Israel is a 66-year old country with a population of 8 million that has produced 68 companies currently traded on Nasdaq, and boasts another 4 to 5 thousand start-ups. In the past year, the Israeli GPS application Waze was sold to Google for $1.1 billion and Wix had an IPO starting at $119 million.
This coming year looks forward to another rapid upsurge of innovation in the world of technology emerging from Israel. One company to watch is Consumer Physics, which integrates the world of physics with technology to create a device that seems like it came directly from a futuristic sci-fi movie. The device, called Scio, is a pocket molecular sensor—it can scan a variety of objects and send information about them directly to your phone. Scio is about the same shape and size as a flash drive and scans the molecular fingerprint of an object and provides relevant information about its chemical makeup. So, for instance, you could use Scio at the supermarket to see which watermelon is sweeter or which avocados are ripe. Scan your morning shake to get a break-down of how many calories, carbs and proteins you are consuming, or take it out to the garden to see how your plants are thriving.
Scio uses a tiny optical sensor called a spectrometer, which catches the light given off by an object and breaks it down into a spectrum which is then sent to the Cloud for analysis and the information sent to your phone in real time. Spectrometers have been used in physics labs for decades, but Consumer Physics found a way to reproduce the weighty and expensive scientific equipment on a much smaller scale and at low cost to consumers.